Reports & Previews

Orlando Pirates 3-0 Polokwane City

Orlando Pirates stunned Polokwane City with an intense first-half barrage that saw them run out comfortable 3-0 winners at Orlando Stadium in the Premiership on Saturday.

Pirates began the match knowing nothing short of a win would be enough for them to challenge Mamelodi Sundowns for the Premiership title and, boy, did they mean business.

They had a brief fright early on when Jabulani Maluleke broke through the defence, but he failed to trouble Wayne Sandilands in the Buccaneers goal, and from then on it was all Sea Robbers.

In the seventh minute, Augustine Mulenga lofted a beautiful cross into the box and Thembinkosi Lorch seemed to almost fly through the air to meet the ball and send an unstoppable header into the back of the net to give the home side an early lead.

Thirteen minutes later they doubled their lead as Maliele Pule showed some great skill on the ball to make space for a shot before sending his shot crashing into the under side of the crossbar and in.

What was so impressive about Pirates attacking intent was how aware their defensive players were of their vulnerability to counter attack. Marshall Munetsi in particular put in a hugely impressive shift in the heart of the Bucs defence, spoiling attack after attack before it could get dangerous.

Three minutes before half time the result was all but secure for the hosts. Mulenga and Lorch linked up once again for the later to fire in his second goal of the match and secure Pirates a vital win.

After the break Pirates wrung the changes and got more defensive players on the field to protect their lead. This both disrupted their rhythm going forward and made them almost impenetrable at the back.

The end result was a fairly dull 45 minutes of football where it just kind of seemed like everyone wanted the game to end so they could find out what happened in the Sundowns game.

Unfortunately for Pirates, Downs managed to beat Free State Stars by a single goal, which means despite the win the Sea Robbers would have to settle for second place in the Premiership this season.

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